The Port of Coos Bay is proposing a project to widen, deepen, and lengthen the navigational channel at the mouth of the Coos River. The project raises concerns about environmental impacts and impacts to recreation, including surfing and fishing.

On September 25, the Coos Bay Chapter held a discussion about the project with a presentation by Shannon Souza, a local environmental engineer to provide a forum for the community to learn more about the project, ask questions, and share concerns.

Using the community discussion as a base, the Coos Bay Chapter developed comments posing several questions to the Army Corps of Engineers. The questions focused on impacts to recreation, economic impacts to the community, environmental impacts, and other potential community impacts such as damage to infrastructure due to changed water flow.

Now that the public comment for the scoping period has closed, the Corps will begin processing comments then move towards developing and evaluating alternatives to the proposed project. In 2018, the draft Environmental Impact Statement will be released along with another opportunity for public comment. In late 2018 or early 2019, the final Environmental Impact Statement will be released and the final decision on the project will be made in 2020.

Stay tuned for updates on this project and to learn about ways to get involved.